MISSISSIPPI, one of the south-western states, lies in lat. 30° 13' to 35° n., and long. 88' 7' to 91' 41' west. It is 332 m. from n. to s., and from 78 to 118 in. from e. to w., containing an area of 47,156 sq. miles. It is bounded n. by Tennessee, e. by Ala bama, s. by the gulf of Mexico and e. Louisiana, and w. by the rivers Pearl and Mis sissippi. The state also includes a cluster of islands in the gulf, of which the prin cipal are Horn, Deer, and Ship islands. There are 73 counties. The principal towns are Jackson (the capital), Natchez, Vicksburg, and Columbus. There are SS in. of coast, but no good harbors. The surface is undulating. and generally very fertile, with river-bottoms of great productiveness. The sea-coast is sandy, but well timbered with live oak, magnolia, and pine, and is considered one of the most healthy districts in the world. The state borders for 500 m. on the Mississippi, and is drained by its tributaries. the Yazoo, Black, Sunflower, etc., and by the Pearl and Pascagoula, flowing into the gulf of Mexico. The country is of the tertiary and upper secondary formations, with great, alluvial valleys; the climate, semi-tropical; the chief productions: cotton, sugar, maize, wheat, sweet potatoes, peaches, figs, oranges, etc. In its forests are found the deer, puma, bear, wolf, wildcat, paroquets, wild turkeys, and pigeons, with fish and alligators in the riveris. The state is well provided with railways, and has immense wealth and
resources. Mississippi had in 1870 a population of 827,922. It has the largest cotton growing area in the union; in 1877 no less than 2.055,000 acres. In 1877 the state debt was *2,951,458; the income was $865,327. Mississippi has a university, four colleges, and litany benevolent institutions. This region traversed by De Soto in 1512. La Salle descended the Mississippi in 1682, and claimed the country for France; in 1n8 d'Iberville formed settlements on the coast at Ship island and Biloxi. Natchez was set tled in 1700; but in 1728 this settlement was destroyed by the Natchez tribe of Indians, who were afterwards defeated, and the survivors sold into slavery in St. Domingo. Mis sissippi was admitted to the union in 1817: it seceded in 1861, and joined the southern confederacy. In 1869 Mississippi agreed to the new constitution, and was restored to its place in the union. In 1863 the city of Vicksburg, after a long and gallant defense, was forced, by famine, to surrender to gem. Grant; and Jackson, the capital, was taken and partially destroyed by the federals, and some of the finest regions of the state laid waste.